SANTA CRUZ - The local construction sector, battered by the recession, will get a boost from the $16 million National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center being built at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Beach Street. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2012.

Bogard Construction of Santa Cruz was chosen as general contractor for the 12,500-square-foot building by the city of Santa Cruz, which requires that all of the subcontractors come from within 100 miles of the project site.

Construction jobs in Santa Cruz County disappeared in the recession, dwindling from 6,300 in November 2006 to 2,800 in October. The state will post November job figures Friday.

"We obviously want to keep the money local," said vice mayor Ryan Coonerty. "We've had preference for local firms in our bids for a long time."

"It's great to be working with a local company," said Lisa Uttal, project manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is fully funding the construction costs for the two-story building.

Bogard, which broke ground just before Thanksgiving, submitted the lowest responsible bid.

There were six bidders in all, and the four lowest responsible bidders were within 4 percent, according to Jared Bogaard of Bogard Construction.

He expects the project will put more than 40 subcontractors to work.

"At the height of the project, there may be 50 to 75 people working in the building each day," he said.

Other jurisdictions such as San Francisco are taking similar steps, requiring bids within a certain radius, to promote local business.

"I totally support that," said Mike Hartrich of the Santa Cruz Construction Guild. "All local construction should be by local builders."

The sanctuary exploration center will be made of structural steel and incorporate features such as solar panels, rainwater recycling and natural ventilation to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

"This is no ordinary project," Bogaard said, describing the certification process as "very meticulous and demanding."

The city of Scotts Valley does not have a preference for local contractors but Mayor Dene Bustichi said he would like to explore the idea.

His idea is to allow local bidders to match a competitor from out of the area if they are within 5 percent of the low bidder.

"We're run into that in other jurisdictions," said Bustichi, who owns Bustichi Construction Inc.